


Fly for Me, Then We'll Talk

by theredhood



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Photographer Dean, art students Dean and Cas, multimedia artist Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-19
Updated: 2014-05-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 17:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1656173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theredhood/pseuds/theredhood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He stopped at one and smiled, "this one me?" he asked. The picture he had opened to was in fact, him. More specifically, it was a close up of the counter and Dean leaning over it. Castiel chose to sketch out this one because he wanted to forever remember how Dean's tongue rested on his teeth when he smiled. It wasn't too noticeable, it was just something Castiel couldn't help but see at such a close distance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fly for Me, Then We'll Talk

Castiel groaned, rubbing his eyes as he opened the door to the shop. He had a class at 10 and he didn't want to wait until later to start his art project. He had to combine a candid shot and then use other kinds of artistic properties (paint, scrap paper, other photographs etc.) to give it either a 3D effect or make it seem more animalistic. It was a bitch to get ideas for, plus where the hell did Mr. Zachariah come up with this idea? 

So here he was, going to sit down in the local coffee place, Crowned Coffee, to lay around and think of ideas. Sketchbook out, he settled his bag and pencils on a table near a window. Pulling out a ten dollar bill, Castiel walked towards the counter to order. His eyes were trained on the menu causing him to almost bump into another customer. "Sorry," he mumbled in response. When he got to the counter he didn't even bother looking down and put the ten dollar bill on the surface. "Can I get a caramel mocha, please?"

"Sure, what size?" the barista asked, causing Castiel's eyes to fix themselves on him. Blond hair, green eyes; not bad looking. 

"Venti, please. Keep the change," Castiel glanced at the name tag, "uh, too hot for you." The blond barista reddened slightly and groaned

"It's Dean, actually. One of my friends likes to write stuff on my tags sometimes, but, uh, yeah, sure. Thanks, also." Dean turned around and pulled a cup out of a stack and started to make the drink, so Castiel went and returned to his seat. A group of people walked in, of which Castiel knew some of the members in it, but only vaguely. "Hey Charlie," Dean called out from the counter, "thanks for dicking around with my stuff."

"No problem, Dean. Shouldn't have been asshole last night," a red-haired girl laughed, leaning over the counter to give Dean a hug.

"It's not being an ass, because Kirk and Spock would never make it as a couple," Dean sighed, rolling his eyes. Castiel gave a snort and ducked his head to hide the laughter he felt coming up. "What was that, blue eyes? Got something to say."

"Well, it's just that the original Star Trek is almost as gay as my brother, and he's almost too homo for the gay strip club he works at."

Charlie jumped up and pointed at Castiel, "see! I'm not the only one who understands!"

"Your drinks ready, blue eyes," Dean grumbled, shaking the cup slightly and settling it on the table. He hopped over the counter and swung his legs about. He finally turned to address the rest of the group, "hey guys, can I get you something?" The group all nodded and smiled. Castiel assumed Dean knew them all well enough because he immediately turned and got off the counter to make their drinks.

Charlie walked over to Castiel, holding his drink and sat across from him. "Thanks," he mumbled taking his drink and offering up a small smile. "Nice shirt," he added, causing the girl to look down at her Captain America shirt then grin up at him. 

"What's your name, cool guy?"

"Castiel."

"Awesome name, Castiel. That would be a great name for a-" Charlie stopped and bit her lip trying to hold back a huge smile, before adding, "wait, Castiel? Like younger brother to Gabe Pour-Some-Sugar-On-Me Novak, Castiel?"

"That's me, younger brother to that sweet-toothed asshole. How do you know him?"

"He works at Heaven and Hell. That place has the best damn strippers in Kansas. He danced with my ex-girlfriend Gilda sometimes and he talked about you a lot after the shows," Charlie grinned. She looked down at her watch and got up, "sorry, got to run. You should hang out with us sometimes, we all go to Kansas City Art Institute. I'm assuming you do too by the logo on your bag. Bye Castiel." And with that, Castiel found himself smiling and deciding to come back in tomorrow. 

\-----

Not only did Castiel come back the next morning, but he came in every morning for the rest of the week. Dean seemed to always be working the morning shifts, which gave Castiel another reason to come in. Castiel would sit down and sketch out ideas; everyday things people would do and try to link it something an animal would. It didn't work out well at first, but soon Dean sat down and talked to him.

"What're you drawing, blue eyes?" Dean asked, pulling a chair from another table to sit on next to Castiel.

"I've told you before, Dean, my name's Castiel," he replied with a swig of coffee.

"That doesn't tell me what you're drawing, though, Cas."

Castiel only rolled his eyes and slid his sketchbook over. He was working on a quick doodle of a person walking there dog, something he saw outside the store window when he first sat down. "Art project. Coming up with ideas for candid shots to manipulate."

Dean nodded and flipped through some of his earlier sketches. He stopped at one and smiled, "this one me?" he asked. The picture he had opened to was in fact, him. More specifically, it was a close up of the counter and Dean leaning over it. Castiel chose to sketch out this one because he wanted to forever remember how Dean's tongue rested on his teeth when he smiled. It wasn't too noticeable, it was just something Castiel couldn't help but see at such a close distance. He hadn't added anything else to it, he couldn't bring himself to alter it. 

"Yeah."

"It looks awesome. Are you taking Zachariah's class?" 

Castiel nodded, "how'd you know?"

"I'm taking his night class, the one at like seven. So's Charlie and Jo. So does this mean you haven't come up with anything yet? I'd be more than happy to help you, I mean if you want me to." Dean coughed awkwardly before continuing, "I haven't done mine either, maybe we could like, work together or something. I'm rubbish at the 3D shit but I take a damn good picture."

Castiel's face lit up, "I'd like that. I suck at photography so it would be a huge help."

Smiling big, Dean's cheeks reddened with embarrasment, "yeah, uh," he coughed nervously, "when would be a good time?"

"Well, I don't have any classes on the weekends. You could come over to my house. I mean, it's not only mine, I live with Gabe but him and his boyfriend are visiting Chicago for the weekend."

"Yeah, this weekend'll be coo- wait Gabe is your brother?" Dean's eye's widened slightly and let out a shaky laugh. He pulled out his phone and brought up a picture two men, "he was at Sam's apartment when I was visiting for his birthday."

"How do you know Gabe's boyfriend?"

"Sammy's my little brother," Dean smiled, still looking at the picture of the younger Winchester, "what would be a good time this weekend?"

"After noon, preferably. I would like to sleep in until lunch. Speaking of lunch, you're more than welcome to eat with me Saturday, I could make burgers."

"You had me at sleep in until lunch. Hell yeah, that'd be sweet. Want me to pick up anything, I'm more than happy to make a grocery run. Bacon? Pie? Soda? Okay well I'm bringing pie, hands down." Castiel opened his mouth to speak but Dean cut him off, "no, don't even try to fight me on this."

"Dean, I already have pie. Cherry rhubarb, specifically. Gabriel makes pies and cakes and stuff, like all of the time." Dean nodded and took out a pen from Castiel's bag (it was clipped to the side) and pulled Cas' arm in front of him. He wrote something across the inside of the darker haired man's wrist. 

"My cell number. Text me the address, yeah?"

\----

It's 11:50 Saturday, and Castiel is just getting up. Dean'll be showing up soon and the burgers still have to be grilled. Throwing off the covers on the bed, Castiel moves to get up but falls onto the floor, one of his feet twisted in the sheets. "Shit, shit," he mumbles, pulling himself upward and moving towards the dresser in the corner. He pulls on jeans and an old t-shirt, one of his really old Pontiac Angels shirts (he bought it for his high school spirit week back in senior year). He doesn't even bother brushing his hair, just goes straight for the toothpaste and mouthwash. 

He makes his way towards the kitchen and brings out the patties he thawed out last night and throws them onto a plate. Grabbing two more plates and a pair of tongs, he uses his hip to open the back door. It's still a little cold outside, the night's rain still present, but the sun is getting rid of that. Throwing the tarp off of the grill, Castiel settles the plate of raw burger patties on the patio table. He ignites the tank and lays out five patties. He runs back inside a few times to get things he forgot (like the cheese and buns) before Dean finally shows up.

The blond rang the doorbell, causing Castiel to run across the house to get to the front door. "Hello, Dean," he smiles, opening the door and pointing to where he left the back door open, "burgers are almost done, we can eat outside if you'd like."

"Thanks," is all Dean says, but he's smiling too and that's all that matters. Castiel leads the way through the house, and outside to the patio where Dean's smile (if it's even possible) get's bigger as he sees the backyard. It's pretty big, one of the reasons Gabe and Castiel bought it, but it's not that big. The whole property is like 2 or 3 acres in itself. The backyard is lined with trees, and there's a large oak twenty feet away from the door and there's a bonfire pit to the side. It's nothing special but it's good for parties, which Gabriel is very partial to.

Castiel putx a burger on a bun for Dean and himself on separate plates and lays them on the wooden patio table. They dig in, Castiel having not eaten since dinner the night before and Dean just craving burgers. They make idle talk about school and what they should do for the project, but soon they're done eating and sitting in the only room on the second floor (which Cas uses as his studio). Dean has his camera in his hands and he's showing Cas some of the photo he's taken. 

"This one's Benny, he's one of my old friends from Lawerence," Deans sighs, pointing out a picture of a teenaged boy hanging upside down from a tree branch with a big grin on his face. "I haven't seen him in a while, but he and I are going on our annual camping trip in South Dakota in a few months."

They look at pictures for a little while longer before Dean wants to see some of the stuff Cas' made. The Novak leads the way towards a small room (or a good sized closet) and picks up the nearest canvas board. It's medium-sized but the strokes on it are small. Up close it doesn't look like much, just really well blended colours, but soon Cas takes a few steps back and Dean can see it. It's a painting of a skeletal ribcage and a heart, but the bones on the ribcage have markings on them and the heart is wrapped inside of what looks like feathered wings. The background looks like it's made of charcoal but it's not just a solid colour it's all kinds of grey. 

"I made this when I first moved out here, I saw it in a dream. I say dream, but it was, uh, it was a, uh," Castiel gives a small annoyed frown before continuing, "it was kind of a nightmare. I've had the nightmare since I was 14 and it's only just stopped happening. It was like I was in hell, but I was there to save the lost souls or something. It's dumb but it used to terrify me, just even being in hell."

"Well I agree. Hell isn't something to fuck around with and neither is this. Dude, this is fucking awesome. Now let's get started, I can't wait to see what we can make."  
They decided it would be best to do something (anything, really) and Dean would take shots at random. So to the lake it was. They were there for a few hours, mulling around and laying in the grass and sand. Cas didn't know when Dean was taking a photo, but he could tell right afterwards (Dean would smile bigger at that point). It wasn't until Castiel climbed a tree that Dean took multiple pictures at once. He claimed it was because of the lighting and positioning. Once Castiel returned back to standing on the ground did Dean show him the photos (Cas would point out he looked like a bird and Dean would make a sound that sounded like a giggle, but no. Dean didn't giggle, not ever). 

They stayed out there until it got dark (and Dean got hungry again). Dean drove Castiel back to his house and walked him to the door. "Thanks for lunch and a great day, Cas, " he mumbled. "I work tomorrow from seven to three, I'll take you out to a late lunch or early dinner, if you like."

"That'd be nice, thank you. Goodnight, Dean."

"Goodnight, Cas."

\-----

It's three weeks after they first had lunch at Castiel's and they're just getting their project back. Castiel is sitting in the middle of Dean's apartment on the floor and looking at the ceiling. Dean's holding the grade report in his hand and waving it around. "We got a fucking A, Cas! A fucking A!"

It's not like they weren't going too. The final piece they had turned in was gorgeous. Castiel had taken a canvas and drew in charcoal wings. They were singed and feathers were falling out. He had added in reds and oranges with pastel crayons as fire on the edges. The wings were only on half the canvas, and there was a silhoutte outline of Cas facing the right. The wings were spread out behind him but flared upwards. There was another silhoutte at the bottom, too. It was of a man kneeling and reaching upwards towards the winged Castiel; his hands splayed as though it was trying to protect itself. Cas hadn't known Dean added the last part with the man. 

"Yes, Dean. We got an A."

"This calls for beer and Star Wars!" Dean grinned, clapping his hands together. He pulled Cas off the ground and twirled him around the room.

"Why are you so excited Dean?" Castiel asked, the sudden burst of happiness in Dean wasn't disliked, it was just not expected.

"Zachariah has never given me anything higher than a C in that class, he fucking hates my guts. This is a celebration, now."

\-----

"Dean Winchester, get your ass back on this couch!" Castiel drunkenly yelled out. It was five beers and way-too-much whiskey after they had started watching Star Wars. They had gotten through two movies and were starting to give shit commentary. Dean had stood up and said he was going to bed, but Castiel was yanking his arm for him to sit back down. "Please!"

"Fine, fine. Needy little shit," was the reply as Dean plopped back down on the couch. He kicked his feet up and over the edge of the couch, leaning his head back onto Castiel's lap. He pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and covered himself with it. Dean curled up and shut his eyes, causing Castiel to snort. Dean reached out a hand and tugged on Cas' hand, then taking it in his own. "I'm glad you're here, Cas," he mumbled into the dark-haired man's upper thighs. Castiel leaned his head down, going to kiss Dean's forehead but Dean surged upwards and quicky wrapped his arms around Castiel's neck. "Cas?"

"Yeah, Dean?" he whispered, breath smelling of cheap liquor and spearmint (an attempt at covering up the other smell).

Dean hurriedly kissed Castiel on the corner of his mouth, "do you want to go get coffee sometime?" 

"Yeah, Dean."


End file.
